Reproduction TOC Troxel Saddle

[Duchess]

I recently dug the original Troxel saddle for my 1912 Iver out of the box it was in from moving and found that it has deteriorated further since I put it in. I also have a spare chassis to a Brooks B67 that I converted to a B68, and it got me thinking that maybe I should try remaking the old Troxel as best as I can using the B67 with its springs and modern(ish) mounting rails. I haven't done much beyond tracing the bottom leather cover onto .25" birch ply (same thickness as the original) and adjusting the measurements to fit the B67 chassis. This meant lengthening the nose 1.25" and widening it .375". I think the next step will be to carve a mold for the top leather cover. Has anyone done anything like this?

 

[RustySprockets]

TRM knows! He made molded inserts for his Christy saddle. I'll find the link for you, but it didn't seem too hard. Maybe, Jim just made it look easy.


http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/project-chris.103164/page-16

 

[us56456712]

I recently dug the original Troxel saddle for my 1912 Iver out of the box it was in from moving and found that it has deteriorated further since I put it in. I also have a spare chassis to a Brooks B67 that I converted to a B68, and it got me thinking that maybe I should try remaking the old Troxel as best as I can using the B67 with its springs and modern(ish) mounting rails. I haven't done much beyond tracing the bottom leather cover onto .25" birch ply (same thickness as the original) and adjusting the measurements to fit the B67 chassis. This meant lengthening the nose 1.25" and widening it .375". I think the next step will be to carve a mold for the top leather cover. Has anyone done anything like this?

I've done this many times. I have made several long spring saddles from saddle frames like the one in your picture and welded longer spring mount bolts to it and added springs from abandoned rocker recliners. I have made my own pans by modifying the bottom pan from a rusty woman seat by hammering and metal shaping. I use a bag of powered drywall gypsum to make my mold which is the cheapest and lightest material. Shake the wet gypsum to get it smooth and eliminate bubbles. Cover the seat in plastic wrap and insert it into the wet gypsum deeper than the sides of the saddle. I have also used old bags of concrete, these are cheap but too heavy and seem prone to having more air bubbles in your mold. Air bubbles in gypsum can be removed by plugging with gypsum and sanding. I have made wood boxes for the gypsum, used old plastic storage boxes and the one in the picture is from an old refrigerator drawer I found in the woods. I just rebuilt an extremely ratty saddle for a friend and it turned out wrinkle free and in her worlds, "beautiful". The mold is frozen to my shop floor so I can't move it for another few weeks. I've chipped the ice away from everything except the junk on my floor. I use old exercise mats from the thrift store glued with spray contact cement to the pan. Start in the center and then spray the sides, make sure to wait 5 minutes. I then use a rough sanding pad I got at the dollar store to contour shape the sides of the pad. I then cover the shaped pad with a thin sheet (1/4 inch) open cell foam from electronic packing that is contact glued to the top of the exercise mat. The packing foam was what I had on hand so I didn't have to buy any. Spray the center and nose of the saddle and the center of your leather cover with the contact glue. Start at the nose and remove as many wrinkles as you can. Try and fit one side to see what you got. Then spray the sides of the leather and underside of the pan and pull tight and attach the leather to the right and left rear sides of the pan. The thin open cell pad is crucial as it helps eliminate the wrinkles. Put it in the mold and pull the sides and back tight and attach to the glue on the underside of the pan. It might not need any adjustment. The seat will fight tightly in the mold (may have to use little force) and will have to be taken out sideways. I use leather or marine vinyl. The marine vinyl came from the local fabric store. Stretch vinyl is a waste of money and doesn't work any better than regular marine vinyl. My best wrinkle free results are from using soft leather. I have also used thick hard tooling leather that I soaked in water and molded directly to the pan with no padding. It looks great but is a hard ride. The black in the mold is from overspray. All the metal parts were soaked in acid before priming and painting. I used the mold box as a container to paint the saddle frame and springs.

 

[Duchess]

I have leather from another project that I'm going to try to use. The original saddle has a layer of leather top and bottom, so I'll duplicate that. It's full grain, so it might be thick, but it's also soft. Good point about the mat. I was wondering what to use instead of the original horsehair. Someone suggested wool as a substitute fitting with the tradition, but I don't want to take the chance it will get moldy. I have some leftover foam from a kayak seat I made, but it seems too dense for this.